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(ModeL) H. W. HALES.

Mole or Gopher Trap.

No-a 238583. Patented March 8,1881.

INVENTOR ATTORNEYS.

NrrEo STATES ATENT .rrrcn.

HENRY W. HALES, OF RIDGEW'OOD, NEW JERSEY.

MO LE OR GOPHER TRAP.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 238,583, dated March 8, 1881.

Application filed September 15, 1880. (Model) To all whom t't may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY W. HALES, of Ridgewood, in the county of Bergen and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and 1mproved Mole or Gopher Trap, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide a cheap, simple, and effective trap, to be placed over mole or gopher runs, for the'purpose of destroying the animals.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the device set in operating position. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a cross-section on line :20 00, Fig. 1. Fig. 4: is a cross-section on line y y, Fig. 1.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

In the drawings, A represents the frame, consisting of two upright parallel sharp-pointed rods or bars, a (0, held a few inches apart from each other by a cross-bar, b, at the top, and a crossbar, 0, near their lower extremities.

B is the traveler, designed to move up and down between the side bars, a a, and consisting of a horizontal plate having notches d in opposite sides, that embrace said side bars, a a, and having its other sides extended in the front and rear, and armed with long, sharp pins ff, projecting downward therefrom.

Firmly secured in the central socket, g, of the traveler B so as to turn therein, and extending upward through the center of the cross-bar b of the frame A, is the rod 0, provided at about half-way of its length with a shoulder, h, and on its upper end with a handle, k.

Encircling this rod 0, between the traveler B and cross-bar I), is a spiral spring, D, that serves to operate the device.

Pivoted in a vertical slot, 1, in one of the side bars, at, below the cross-bar c, is the trigger E, the flat inner end of which extends horizontally between the side bars, a a, while its upward curved notched end extends out-ward, as shown.

F is a bent lever, whose function is hereinafter described, said lever F being removable and adjustable in the slot at of the side bar, a.

In order to set'the trap, the rod 0 is raised by the handle until the shoulder h comes above the cross-bar I). Then the said rod 0 is turned slightly, so that the shoulder It shall rest on the bar I), and thus retain the said rod 0 and its attached traveler B elevated to their extreme height. The trap is then set across the mole-run and the rod 0 turned to disengage the shoulder h from the bar I). The spring D then acts instantly to drive the pins ff into the ground. This operation is repeated until the pins ff penetrate the ground so far that the traveler B shall strike the lower crossbar, 0, and the inner end of the trigger E be pressed down in a horizontal direction on the run or pathway of the gopher. Then the rod 0 is again raised and the shoulder h engaged on the cross-bar b. By this combination of devices the pronged traveler is held up while the trap is being adjusted in position. The bent end of the lever F is then inserted through a slot, m, in one of the side bars, a, and fulcrumed on a transverse pin, a, fixed therein. One end of said lever F is then engaged in a notch, 0, in the side of the socket g of the traveler B, while the lower end of said lever F is engaged in a notch, 12, in the outer end of the trigger E. By thus loosely fulcruming the lever F on a fixed cross-pin in slot on of the frame, the end of the lever may be readily made to enter, more or less, into the notch 0 of the traveler, and thus be tripped with more or less facility, according to the depth of the run and the dryness or hardness of the ground. Then the rod (3 is turned back again to disengage the shoulder h from the cross-bar b, and thereby the trap is set. A mole or gopher moving along'the run between the side bars, a a, of the trap raises the inner end of the trigger E, whereby the outer end thereof is lowered, and thelever F thereby released from the notch 19. The tension of the spring D then forces the traveler B down, and the pinsff are thereby forced into the ground on either side of the trigger E, and pierce the mole or gopher moving in either direction.

\Vhen this trap is set the points of the pins ff are beneath the surface of the ground, so that they cannot catch or injure chickens or any domestic animals.

The trap, being made of metal, is strong, durable, and cannot easily get out of order, and is so constructed that it can be set close to a wall or fence without impairing the working of the trap, and there being no pin or other obstruction projecting from it into the 2. In a. mole-trap, the combination, with the trigger and traveler, of the lever F, loosely fulorumed on a fixed cross-pin in slot m of the frame, whereby the lever end may be passed 15 more or less into the notch 0 of traveler, for the purpose specified.

HENRY W. HALES.

Witnesses:

I. I. STORER, O. SEDGWIOK. 

